Apologies for the infrequent updates lately. I'm back in College now so that has slowed things down. I recently discovered though that this website isn't blocked on the college computers, so I will be able to write in my spare time there, so that should hopefully speed things up.
I don't really want to write much here, as I prefer just having a full chapter without some rambling at the start, but I would like to thank those who have followed, favorited and reviewed this story so far. You're all the best. Anyway, onto the chapter.
"No way..." Clemont said in disbelief. "What are the odds? Mairin too?"
"I don't think this is a coincidence, Clemont." Professor Sycamore argued, ready to propose his own theory. "Is it a coincidence that both Serena and Mairin's cases involved an attack by a Malamar? Is it coincidence that they are both close friends with the Kalos League finalists, who also happened to have played a major role in defending the region from Team Flare? Something's not quite right here."
Clemont paused for a moment and rubbed his chin gently, "Well, when you put it like that, something doesn't seem right at all."
"So you're saying that Serena not waking up is my fault?"
Sycamore bit his lip when heard Ash speak. This wasn't the same Ash he knew at all. The whole situation was devouring his optimism and his cheerful self.
"The professor isn't saying that," Clemont responded in place of Sycamore, purposely using a calm voice to make Ash question his conclusion. "He's just sharing a possible reason for the Malamar attack. Maybe someone has a grudge against you and Alain and is targeting those closest to you. Maybe it isn't that at all and it's something else entirely."
"Right..." Ash muttered in a frustrated tone.
"Excuse me," The quiet voice of a woman called out to them from the door. Ash looked up and recognized the woman as Aliana, the doctor who was overseeing Serena's condition. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over. You know I don't like to kick you out, Ash, but it's our policy and I will get in trouble otherwise."
Ash stood up and simultaneously stretched and yawned. "Don't worry about it, Aliana. Let's get ready to leave, guys." The Pokemon Trainer went over to each of Serena's Pokemon and gave them a small nudge to wake them up. The group had decided beforehand that Ash would be taking care of Serena's Pokemon due to the current circumstances. He would be their temporary trainer.
Clemont gave Bonnie a small nudge and she muttered something incomprehensible in her sleep, but it was clear she was slowly waking up.
"I will be heading back to my lab," Sycamore said to the two trainers. "Please, if you need anything, let me know. I'll help to the best of my ability."
"Thank you, professor." Ash and Clemont gave their thanks. As they watched Sycamore leave, the two trainers locked eyes and nodded. It was time to go.
Ash gazed out of the Pokemon Center window. Pikachu was by side, closely watching his trainer with saddened eyes. The electric type truly wished he could cheer his trainer up. Bonnie and Clemont sat beside him in silence. It was the next morning and Ash could barely keep his eyes open.
"So... when did you wake up, Ash?" Clemont attempted to start some sort of conversation. It was the morning after they had visited Serena and ran into Professor Sycamore.
"I... didn't sleep." Ash confessed, adding a nervous chuckle at the end. The two siblings wanted to criticize him, but they knew that he was suffering the most. They couldn't blame him for not being able to sleep.
"Hey, everyone!" The three heard a familiar and excited voice. Clemont and Bonnie looked up and saw Sawyer, one of Ash's main rivals in his adventures in Kalos, dressed in his usual clothing with his notebook already out and in his hand. "I haven't seen you all since the League ended!" He said with a smile, turning towards Ash after. "Y'know, I've also been training really hard and Sceptile and I have been gaining lots of experience. I know we battled in the League only two weeks ago, Ash, but I'd love it if we could have a one-on-one battle again if that's okay with you! We've learnt a lot in this small time and I think you'll be impressed!"
Nothing. Sawyer got no response at all, not even from Clemont and Bonnie. The young trainer didn't know how to react. He was expecting Ash's excitement for battle. He was expecting Bonnie to be her cheerful self. He was expecting Clemont to be enthusiastic about his inventions. Even Pikachu and Dedenne weren't their happy selves.
Then he realized.
"Where's Serena?"
No response again, but their faces looked sad. Uncharacteristically sad. That was when he knew something had happened.
"Guys?"
"Serena..." Clemont started, the only one out of the three who had gathered the courage to speak up. "She... she's in the hospital and... she won't wake up."
Sawyer said nothing at first. He was truly shocked at the news he was hearing. He looked at the three again and saw how exhausted and upset they all were. "I... I'm sorry! I... I had no idea!" He stuttered, waving his hands in front of him.
"It's okay, Sawyer. Don't worry about it." Ash reassured him, giving him a smile afterwards. But Sawyer knew his idol very well. He knew that the smile was forced.
"Sawyer! Don't run off like that!" An agitated scream caught everyone's attention.
Ash immediately turned his head towards the entrance of the Pokemon Center and saw a familiar face. A black haired girl ran towards the trainer from Hoenn and placed her hands on her knees as she panted heavily. The girl cleared her throat and gave Sawyer a pout. Sawyer raised his hands in defense and provided her with a grin.
"Emma?" Ash called out, almost in a tone of disbelief.
"Ash!" Emma responded with a cheerful shout. "So you're the one Sawyer keeps talking about! I should have known, honestly! Oh, how's Serena?"
Clemont scanned the new arrival and brought a hand to his chin, "So that's Emma..." He whispered to himself.
"I didn't know you knew Sawyer." Ash commented, deciding to ignore her question about the performer.
"We met a few days ago. Mimi and I are very poor so we can't really afford food," Emma started. "But he was such a gentleman and bought us an entire meal! I'll be honest, he's a little cute too..." She concluded with a teasing voice.
Sawyer's grin grew and he slightly blushed at the compliment, "Hey... uh... I was just doing the right thing, honest!"
"I've been kinda relying on him a bit though," Emma admitted, her smile turning into a small frown. Mimi was in her arms and looked up at her with curious eyes. She then raised her head quickly and smiled at the green-haired trainer. "But it's okay! I actually got a part-time job at a café so I should be able to pay you back, Sawyer!
"No, no, you don't have to do that!" He declined her offer.
"C'mon, I need to repay my debts."
Clemont cleared his throat, getting the two's attention, "I don't mean to interrupt, but can Ash and I talk to you privately, Emma?"
"Clemont...?" Ash quietly said, unsure of the scientist's intentions.
"Well, sure thing!" Emma replied as enthusiastic as usual, beginning to approach the two trainers. "I'll be right back, Sawyer."
Bonnie pouted and glared at her brother with suspicious eyes. It was obvious to her that she was being excluded from the private conversation, but she decided to give her brother the benefit of the doubt as what they had to say to Emma was obviously important. Bonnie turned to Sawyer who was reading from his notebook and asked if she could play with his Pokemon, to which the trainer happily accepted.
"What do you guys want to talk about, then?" Emma inquired the two trainers after they had found a private area to talk. "Oh, I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Emma, I guess Ash told you. You're the Lumiose Gym Leader, right? That's actually... really cool."
"Nice to meet you too, Emma!" Clemont quickly responded, a little nervous in his speech. Ash looked at the scientist, still unsure what he had planned. "Anyway, you met Ash in a forest outside Lumiose, right?"
Emma nodded in approval.
"Well, you also met Serena too, but right now... she's... is in a coma." Clemont explained once again. He heavily disliked informing people of Serena's condition; it was not a pleasant thing to share in the slightest.
"Oh gosh!" Emma screeched in shock, covering her mouth with her hand for a brief moment. "I... I had no idea!"
"It's alright." Ash attempted to calm her down.
"I'm really sorry," she began with an apology. "If I had known, I wouldn't have asked how she was earlier... because well, you know."
"We wanted to talk to you about Serena's condition, actually." Clemont finally told the reason for the private conversation. Ash watched the scientist as he explained Serena's circumstances and how it happened, leaving out events that Emma and Mimi were present for. After Clemont finished, Emma looked deep in thought. The Lumiose girl remained silent for around half a minute, before noticing the two trainers were locking eyes with her, making her a little nervous but helping her realize she needed to speak.
"So, I take it you want to know what was up with that Malamar?" She asked, adding a quiet uneasy chuckle, almost as if she had been caught red-handed committing a crime. "Well, it was training me."
"Training you?" Ash asked with interest.
"Yeah! You know how I mentioned I work part-time at a café, right?" She answered with another question, receiving two nods in return. "Well, the owner is offering me more money if I help him with an experiment of sorts. That Malamar is his." Emma finished.
"Experiment?" Clemont questioned with curiosity.
"Yup, I can't really say more than that, since I'm under some agreement or something... Anyway, that Malamar is training me, basically. I was told to enter the woods and survive the night while the Malamar hunted me down." Emma continued the purpose of her being essentially in the middle of nowhere two weeks ago.
"I see..." Ash replied. He wasn't quite sure what kind of training Emma was receiving, but he didn't like the idea of a Pokemon being ordered to find and attack her all night.
Emma sighed and gazed down at the quiet psychic type Pokémon in her arms, who was observing Ash and Clemont quietly, "Mimi didn't like it at all. That scream you heard on that night was Mimi's scream, amplified by her psychic powers. She's terrified of that Malamar. When we returned to the café, the owner wasn't too pleased with our results, unfortunately. He didn't take into account our encounter with you, Ash, or those weird Rocket guys. At least we got paid, I guess."
Clemont paused and rested his head on his crossed hands. Emma was about to continue, but he raised a finger to stop her, "Sorry for the interruption, but what's the name of the café you work at?"
"Lysandre Café." She answered quickly. "Named after the previous owner, if I recall. I've heard they're gonna change the name, though, since he was the one who caused that crazy plant stuff. That was really scary."
"Lysandre...?" The Kanto trainer muttered, not quite believing what he was hearing.
Clemont took in a deep breath before responding once more, "And I'm taking a guess that the owner of the café is now a man named Xerosic?"
"Yeah, exactly! Do you know him, Clemont?" Emma asked excitedly.
Clemont turned towards his companion and his expressions turned serious. "Ash, I don't know this for sure but... I think Serena and Mairin were targeted purposely by Xerosic."
"What...?" The black haired girl said in a combination of shock and disbelief. "There's no way. Xerosic is a good man; sure he can be a little harsh at times but... he's a good person!"
Ash said nothing. His focus was locked on Clemont and the inventor bit his lip. Pikachu watched his trainer carefully, unable to tell what was on his trainer's mind. Ash suddenly lowered his cap, turned around, and began to walk towards the entrance of the Pokemon Center.
"Pika..." Pikachu whispered into Ash's ear, trying to find out what he was up to.
Sawyer and Bonnie watched as the Pokemon Trainer walked past them without even bothering to look at them. Sawyer was tempted to say something, but decided against it.
"I'm surprised to see you here so soon, Ash." Sycamore greeted the trainer, who had made an unexpected appearance at his laboratory only a day after their previous talk. "Do you need my help at all?"
"Yeah," He answered while nodding quickly. "Do you have a way of contacting Alain? I need him to come to Lumiose City."
"Alain?" The professor repeated, hoping to learn more from Ash, but the trainer was silent and merely stared at the professor. This prompted Sycamore to properly answer his question. "Well, yes, but do remember he is looking after Mairin at the moment, so getting him to leave might be tricky. What do you need to talk to him about?"
Ash sat down on a nearby chair, crossed his arms and took a deep breath, "Well, I need him to know we're not done with Team Flare yet."